Astros sweep Mariners behind strong performance from Brad Peacock

SEATTLE – The Astros get their first day off in almost three weeks on Thursday. The way things have been going, though, Houston might rather stay in Seattle and keep playing.

The Astros swept their final series of the season against the Mariners with a 6-1 victory on Wednesday night at Safeco Field. The Astros head back to Houston after a 4-3 swing through Oakland and Seattle, marking just their second winning road trip of the season.

After starting the road swing by winning just one of four games against the A’s, Houston torched the Mariners by scoring 25 runs in the series and knocking out a total of 36 hits.

“You come into a series and you want to win the series,” manager Bo Porter said. “You put yourself in a position winning the first two games and having an opportunity to sweep, and I felt like the guys really responded well.”

As they had the previous night, the Astros put Wednesday’s game out of reach early. Matt Dominguez started the action with a double in the second and he scored on a two-out double by Marc Krauss. Carlos Corporan followed with a run-scoring single to put Houston up 2-0.

The offense was back at it in the third, as Jonathan Villar singled, swiped second – the sixth consecutive stolen base in as many tries against Seattle catcher Mike Zunino in the last two days – and scored on a two-out single by Brett Wallace.

Dominguez followed with a ground-rule double, and he and Wallace scored on a Chris Carter single. All five Houston runs came with two outs.

“I think we kind of feed off each other,” Dominguez said. “Having good at-bats, good approaches and guys getting on, and [we’ve] been able to hit them in.”

The three-run third chased Mariners starter Brandon Maurer (4-8). The rookie right-hander, who was making his first start since May 28, gave up five runs on seven hits in three innings.

Astros starter Brad Peacock (5-5) made the early lead stand with six innings of one-run ball. Peacock allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out four. The right-hander is 4-2 since rejoining the Astros rotation on Aug. 4. He has allowed two runs or less in four of his seven starts during that span.

“Tonight I was able to throw it for strikes again and just kept the guys off balance and let the defense do the work,” Peacock said. “They did a great job behind me tonight.”

Peacock’s start is the latest in a good run for Houston hurlers in Seattle. Astros starters allowed a combined two earned runs in 17 innings (1.06 ERA) during the three-game set.

“Our starting pitching has been outstanding,” Porter said. “When you pitch well and swing the bats and kind of give those guys a little bit of cushion, it allows them to attack the zone that much more. I feel like they’ve done a tremendous job of that all series.”

Kevin Chapman and Josh Zeid combined to throw three innings of scoreless ball. Zeid recorded his first career save.

The lone run for the Mariners came off the bat of Kendrys Morales, who drilled a solo home run to center field in the fourth inning. It was the 100th home run of Morales’ career.

Zeid ended the Mariners’ greatest chance at a comeback by inducing Raul Ibanez into a bases-loaded pop out to end the eighth. Zeid’s performance at the back end of the ballgame help keep the Astros momentum rolling as they head back home for a six-game homestand.

“I think as long as we have good mental approaches – we’ve got enough talent – the results will be there,” Dominguez said. “Just keep it rolling, hopefully keep scoring runs.”